Moving Forward MKAL: Clues 6&7

So I'd hoped to bring you this post last week. Clue 7 arrived on Monday when I had a couple of rows of Clue 6 left to do and it turned out that Clue 7 was just the bind off so I was hoping to have it done in a flash.  Of course that was when I caught a godawful pestilence that has been doing the rounds here and pretty much didn't knit a stitch for several days.  Has anyone else had a horrible cold?  I wouldn't say it was quite as bad as flu but it was getting there and even now I'm recovering I feel all weak and pathetic and just.....wrong I guess.  Luckily I was expecting it as so many people around me were ill and I knew it was going to be bad so I wasn't surprised by how awful I felt, but still, ugh.

Anyway I've recovered enough to finish the last 2 clues and get this shawl off the needles.  Clue 6 featured a series of increases which help to form the points as well as 2 row stripes.  I completely failed to notice until it was far too late that the penultimate stripe was supposed to be in colour B instead of colour D.  A bit of a whoops there but I decided that it really wasn't going to bother me enough to warrant unknitting a row and and a half so it stays.

Clue 7 was just the bind off and we were given the choice of doing a picot bind off or substituting a stretchy bind off of our choice.  Now had I been knitting along as soon as the clue released I would have gone for the picot bind off.  I don't particularly enjoy working them and I find that they can look a little fussy for me at times, but I like the way they look on some shawls and I'd have given it a go on this one.  As I'd fallen behind however I was able to check out some of the finished shawls and decided that in this case I did prefer the simpler edge so that's what I did.

All that remains now is to get this thing blocked and get some nice photographs so that I can show off the finished object in all it's glory.

Moving Forward MKAL: Clue 5

Oooooooh spoilers!

Well we're getting there, Clue 5 is done so there are only 2 clues to go 😀  This clue was a fun one! It started with another row of purl, yarn over, purl into a knit 3 together which is tedious but looks really pretty but the rest of the clue was very enjoyable to knit.  It consisted of slipping sets of stitches and leaving the yarn floats in front and the catching up the floats a few rows later to make little triangles. 

I've used a similar technique before to add little butterfly motifs to a pair of socks so this was fairly simple.

Small tangent: At this point I disappeared off to Ravelry to see if I had a picture of said socks, I did (obviously!)  and WOW I knit these 10 years ago, seriously it's like I blink these days and a year goes by!  I still have these socks, they have a few holes in and are starting to look a bit tatty but now I realise that the reason for this is because they are older than my children.

So yeah.  This clue took a few days due to the rows getting longer, but it was fun and I like the way it looks.  The next clue introduces the 5th colour that I haven't used yet so I'm looking forward to getting going on that one.

Moving Forward MKAL: Clue 4

Spoilers ahead!

I don’t have too much to say today, Clue 4 is pretty much Clue 2 but upside down so I’ll just share a few photos and move right along.

The only think worth mentioning is that I was supposed to switch down a needle size for this clue and I failed to notice this piece of information until I was at least halfway though.  There was no way I was ripping back for that so it stays the way it is.  I will however be paying slightly more attention to the needle sizes in further clues now that I know it is not entirely predictable!

So that’s it, I’m nearly done with Clue 5 so I should have that for you at the weekend.

FO: Little Trees

Please don't groan, this is another post about a two colour brioche hat.  You know the drill, I make a lovely hat, I enjoy making it, it doesn't fit right and I give it to someone it looks great on.  Not this time!  I'll go right ahead and say this hat is awesome, fits just the way I want it and I now need at least 3 more of these in my life.  Boom!

The pattern I used this time was Little Trees by Raina K, this pattern is not described as slouchy but I figure that this time I would pay attention to the length of the hat and knit a little extra height so that it could fall down a bit at the back and give me the extra head volume I need to not look weird.  I'm aware that I'm starting to sound a bit bonkers about hats and the size of my head but let's just put it down to one of those little foibles that everyone has and move along.

In the end this hat turned out to be plenty tall enough without adding any extra height and I really love the shape of it on me.  This was another enjoyable knit and I'm really happy with the colours I chose.  I used DROPS Lima once again, this time in Cerise and Ice Blue.  I popped a fur pompom on the top because I am done making my own pompoms but I do enjoy a bobble on my hats so I now have a stash of furry ones to choose from.  This pattern is slightly more complex than the others I've made with 3 different brioche decreases and also an increase but once you're down with the technique it all becomes pretty simple.

So finally we have it, my briochey happy ending made all the sweeter by the false starts I had along the way.

Moving Forward MKAL Clue 3

As ever, spoilers ahead for anyone participating

Unlike the previous two clues, this clue arrived on a work day and I made the mistake of taking a quick peek it before I started working even though I knew I wouldn't be able to get started for hours.  Also it was Monday when Cassie has choir after school so I had to wait until I'd finished work, picked Felicity up at 3:15 and then gone back for Cassie at 4:15 by which time I really should be starting the dinner and so on.  This was a real bugger because this clue looked like fun to knit, and when I finally got going it really was!

The clue began and ended with a row of working a purl, yo, purl into 3 stitches which was a bit of a fiddle and took a while but I'm sure will look lovely and lacy once the finished shawl is blocked.  The centre section consists of vertical stripes made from slipped stitches.  This was worked by slipping every other stitch using  the first colour and then sliding all the stitches back to other end of the needles and then knitting the slipped stitches with the other colour before finally turning the work.  This was enjoyable to knit and looks lovely, I like how the stripes are subtle, as the yarns don't contrast too much, but still visible.  It's a nice effect.

So that's clue 3 done, only 4 clues left to go!

FO: Joshua Tree

Since knitting Minimalismus and giving it to Stu I've had a bit of a bee in my bonnet about having my own two colour brioche hat and so once I'd finished the Boo Knits challenge last year I set about choosing a pattern.  After a few happy minutes browsing I settled on Joshua Tree by Katrin Schubert Described in the pattern as a slouchy hat I figured that it had more chance of fitting the way I wanted it to than some of the other patterns.

I used DROPS Lima again, this time in dark purple for the background and pistachio for the leaves.  I really enjoyed knitting this pattern, I learned a new brioche decrease and it was really fun seeing the leaves take shape as I knitted.  This is definitely a pattern that looks way more intricate than it is and I'm really pleased with the way it turned out.  After finishing I tried it on and I was pleased to see that it did have the slouchiness that I was looking for and I really liked the way looked.  I then admired the way the decreases met at the top for a few minutes before sewing on a furry pom pom just to finish the whole thing off.

The next day I wore it to go to a get together at my brother's inlaws even though it wasn't all that cold.  Now this is where our tale really begins!  I noticed as soon as I got outside though that the hat was actually a little bit large (I know, the irony here is not lost on me!) and the breeze could get in round the sides and around my ears, which wasn't going to be ideal once it got really cold.  Once we arrived at the party I took my hat off and popped it inside the hood of my coat.  When we left I didn't check that it was still there and I didn't notice that I didn't have it because, again, it wasn't cold.  Honestly I didn't really think about it until a few days later when my Sister-in-Law sent me this picture and asked 'Is this yours?'

I said it was and she then said 'Well it's mine now!' quickly following up with a joke that she could never steal one of my hats because our heads are completely different sizes.  Immediately I had a feeling that this hat was actually meant to be hers so I replied saying that the hat was a bit large for me and that if she liked it she could keep it.  She did and she did..... and that is the story of why I don't have very many photos of this hat and how the search for my perfect brioche hat continued.

Moving Forward MKAL Clue 2

Here be spoilers for anyone knitting along

Just a quick post with my progress on the Boo Knots New Year Mystery knitalong.

I forgot to mention in my previous posts that this MKAL has 7 clues all together with the clues with 2 to 4 days between clues. This means the clues are pretty short and manageable, prefect for this time of year. Clue 3 arrived yesterday and I’m about half way through that so I should have that done by tomorrow.

Clue 2 introduced two more colours and a subtle pattern made from purl stitches featuring diagonal stripes which radiate out from a triangle in the centre. I think this will probably become a bit clearer after blocking but at the moment it is hard to see the pattern.

So far so good, I'm looking forward to seeing where this is heading!

FO: Barnes

When I was picking out yarn for the Minimalismus hat (that was supposed to be for me me but actually ended up being Stu’s) I decided to get some yarn for a hat for Stu as well. I made him a hat a while back and while he does wear it a lot it isn’t really warm enough for really cold weather so I was happy to make him another.

I decided to keep it simple, the pattern I chose was Barnes, a very simple ribbed affair with no bells or whistles and I picked out some Cascade 128 in Deep Ocean. Stu likes bright blues and I thought this was vibrant enough without it being a bit too bright for him to want to wear.

Knitting this was incredibly quick and easy and I enjoyed knitting with the yarn. I found that I started to covet this hat shortly after casting on and wasn't entirely sure I wanted to give it away when I finished it, especially as I'd ended up giving away my Minimalismus hat! I decided that I would still offer it to Stu as I'd intended it to be for him though, even after I finished it and decided that I did completely love it. Luckily (for me at least) Stu declared it too slouchy for his tastes and the hat became mine. I'll admit that I failed to mention the fact that you can fold up the brim and convert it into a standard bobble hat but frankly it's his own fault for not working it out for himself! So long story short, I made me a hat that Stu has and I made Stu a hat that I have and now everyone has a hat they like and we all lived happily ever after.

In non knitting news, today is Felicity’s 5th birthday. Despite it feeling like she was just born 5 years have somehow passed and she has turned into a witty, adventurous and rambunctious little lady. She is honestly the most friendly person I have ever known and she never forgets a person once she’s met them and will never fail to greet them with a cheery hello when they pass by. She throws herself at life with such gusto and most days I realise I could learn a lot from this tiny human being. I can't wait to see what the next year brings.

FO: Minimalismus Hat

At the end of last year I gave brioche knitting a go, just a simple one colour hat but it was fun to knit and my hat was just so squishy! I didn’t mean to leave it quite so long before revisiting the technigue but I've finally got there, this time giving two colour brioche a whirl.

The pattern I chose to start with was Minimalismus by Raina K. She has loads of lovely patterns but i chose this one because it has minimal patterning throughout the main body of the hat and also has an alternative version for if you don’t want to work the brioche decreases that form the tops of the arches around the brim.

I decided to go all in, and after a quick glance at a You Tube tutorial if found those big decreases pretty simple to work and I felt rather accomplished once I’d finished them all! The middle section was very quick to knit up and actually the hardest bit was making the bobble and I've now sworn off making the stupid things altogether, such a faff.

I wasn't entirely sure I was going to add a bobble to this hat but after I'd finished it and tried it on I found that it wasn't quite as slouchy as I like. I know it's silly but I have a really tiny head and I find that hats which are tight against my head make me feel like look weirdI look weird and a bit of slouch seem to fix that. I tried adding the bobble to see if I'd lie it better, but alas still made my head look derpy. So I asked Stu if he wanted it as he'd been hinting he needed a warmer hat and he's been wearing it ever since. Oh well, at least i get to someone wearing it even if it's not me. At some point I will revisit this pattern and add an inch or so onto the length and then it will be perfect.

Just quickly, while I'm here and it's not really worth a seperate post, I've completed Clue 1 of the Moving Forward MKAL, go no further if you do not wish to be spoiled!

So far it’s just white with a little texture.

I did have a bit of a silly moment where I misread the pattern and only repeated Chart 2 one and a half times instead of two and a half times but I realised my mistake when I saw other people posting photos in the MKAL Ravelry thread and startied to notice mine was a little small by comparison. Oops! The next clue arrives tomorrow and I don't start work til 3pm on Fridays so I'm hoping to get a good chunk of it done right away. Yay for knitting time!

The Year Ahead

So 2019 is here! We welcomed it without much (any) fanfare, New Years has never really been my favourite celebration but it is a nice excuse to make a few plans and think about what I'd like to achieve craftwise this year.

First up the Boo Knits 2019 Challenge. Once again I considered not signing up for this, this year's challenge will involve knitting 12 Boo patterns, but in the end I decided to go ahead but to not make it a priority to actually complete it. If I don't feel like knitting shawls I won't but I don't want to miss out onjoining in if I do actually end up knitting the required amount of Boo patterns throughout the year. This year the challenge is being kicked off by...

Moving Forward, the New Year Mystery Knitalong which I cast on for this morning so I'm already making a good start. This one requires 4 or 5 colours of fingering weight yarns that form a gradient. I'm using DROPS Baby Alpaca Silk, which I've used and loved for a shawl last year, in 5 shades from white to purple. I switched round the order of the shades a couple of times and I'm still slightly torn but at this point it's sheer guesswork what will work best so this is what I'm sticking with now.

My big important knitting project for the year is another baby blanket. Thanks to my sister my lovely collection of nieces and nephews is set to grow by one around May time this year so I will be quietly working away on a blanket for him/her. My sister has been known to frequent these parts (hi Jess!) so I won't be saying any more about this project until it's finished and handed over.

For sewing my main aim is to actually do some! I've been in a bit of a slump but I have several projects I really want to get done so I'll be making a special effort there. I really want to finally nail a pair of jeans that properly fit, I want to make another coat and I have a large number of dress patterns I want to try.

I also want to get more in the way of spinning done this year. Really I need to take a look at my setup and work out how to make it easier to just hop and and spin for a bit without having to drag everything out and then put it away again when I'm done. Basically I am lazy and I just wont bother if it feels like an effort and that is something I need to fix. I find I get so much more done if I can just snatch 10 minutes here and there rather than trying to find a whole chunk of time, but my equipment needs to be ready and waiting for me to do that.

And that's it. I don't like to put too much pressure on myself, but it's nice to have a vague plan for the things that I would really like to get done in a year. This way I don't dissappoint myself and hopefully I'll be pleasantly surprised by what I do achieve by the end of the year.